Chapter 41

STEVE — Thursday, March 8, 1962

I finally was able to get loose from work in time to swing by my apartment and collect my bag before I boarded a bus for the airport. Since the first successful Reaper runs last week, I had cleaned up some minor bugs in the programs and laid the groundwork for the program that Vlad and Lou were going to write for maintaining and cleaning the archive tape cartridges. Samantha had been doing a good job of coordinating the input collection and the runs, and even made some improvements to the process. Unfortunately, she informed me that she wouldn't be able to continue; Murray had arranged for a new employee to take over. She would keep on with the work until the new person had been granted the necessary clearance and then she would train her (or him) to be able to take over.

I was able to get the next shuttle, and even had time before it left to call Sandy at her office to tell her when I would be coming in.

"I'll be able to leave IBM in five minutes, but probably you'll get to LaGuardia before I do!"

"No problem, love. Knowing that you'll be there soon is all I need — that, and maybe a bite to eat somewhere before we head back up to Poughkeepsie."

"Wait for me! I won't have had anything to eat, either. There's a nice place in Westchester, I've been told, and I'll buy us a nice dinner."

I heard the boarding announcement, and said, "That sounds nice. I have to go now, love — I'll see you soon!"

It was an agonizingly slow flight! We sat waiting for takeoff for almost a half-hour, and then a couple of times were rerouted to avoid some small local thunderstorm activity. Finally, when we got to New York, we circled for another half-hour before we could land. When I got into the terminal, I didn't see Sandy, so I took a seat and pulled out my book again. I'd only read a few pages when I felt two arms circling me from behind, and Sandy nuzzling my neck.

"Mmmm," I said, as I jumped up and gave her a proper hug and kiss. "I've missed you!"

"Me too, dearest Tigger. Let's go; I think we both need dinner, and then we need to hurry on home to make up for lost time!"

"I like both those ideas!"

Once we were in the car, and on our way north, we caught up with what had been going on in our jobs since she had last been in Washington.

"Steve, it looks like IBM is going to get the contract for the on-board computers for the Apollo missions. Apparently the work is going to be done in Owego, New York; it's a little bit west of Binghamton and about an hour south of Ithaca. One of their engineers was in the big architecture meeting last week, and I spent most of a day talking to him. They want me to spend a couple of days there next week, bringing them up to speed on the idea of microprogramming."

"Will that give you a chance to visit with Mary?"

"I think so. I was going to schedule the meetings so that I could then go up to her place for the weekend."

"Well, say hello to her for me. Of course, I'll see her in another month at the wedding — just think, it's only another month!"

Sandy said, "Oh, Steve, dearest!" and put her hand on mine for a moment, but just then we arrived at the restaurant.

We had a delicious dinner, and were so very happy to be back together again. Eventually, we were on the road again for Poughkeepsie. When we got to her house, she said, "Take a good look, dear; in another week someone else will own this."

"I guess it doesn't matter if I leave the toilet seat up when I leave on Sunday, then?"

She giggled, but then wrapped her arms around me and gave me a squeeze, exclaiming "Silly!"

I hugged her, and raised her face to mine, and gave her a proper kiss. I went to get my bag and headed toward the stairs, but she said, "No, since Mom moved out, I've been sleeping down here, and, in fact, we sold the furniture from my bedroom. In here!" She said, and then led the way down the hall to what I still thought of as Sheila's room.

I followed, and soon we were shedding our clothes, jumping under the covers, and making up for lost time.

SANDY — Friday, March 9, 1962

I woke up at seven, and had a moment of panic until I felt Steve next to me and remembered that I was taking the day off and didn't have to rush to get to work on time. I relaxed and snuggled close to him again, touching him gently but enough to wake him. The next thing I knew, the sun was streaming in through the window, and when I reached for Steve, he wasn't there. I heard noises in the kitchen, and, sure enough, the dear man soon appeared with two mugs of coffee.

"Steve, my love, you have a job for life — that is, except on the days when I get up first and bring you coffee!"

Comfortably, we sat and drank our coffee. He said, "We really have all day for us, and the only thing we need to do today is to go downtown and get our license, is that right?"

"Yes, and if you're thinking what I'm thinking, I love that thought, but I need a moment for a quick pee first."

Soon I was back, and soon we were back under the covers, caressing and teasing each other. Steve rolled me over onto my back, and proceeded towards my boobs. With his talented tongue, he gently licked them alternately, starting at the edges and slowly moving in towards my nipples. Needless to say, this was driving me crazy, and when he finally sucked and nibbled on my nips, I went over the edge, shrieking, "Steve! Dearest Tigger! So good, but stop, please!"

His response was to move lower, and I shivered with anticipation when I realized where he was going. I had barely recovered from my first climax when his lips and tongue found my sensitive nubbin, and again, I started thrashing and moaning, crying out "Oh! Oh! Aiiieeee!" as I again exploded.

He held me close as I was coming down from the high, but I could feel his erection against me, and I growled, "Now it's your turn, dearest love! You know what to do, and do it now!"

His first response was to caress my face and hair and give me a gentle kiss, but soon we were joined and the day got off to a very good start!

In the delicious afterglow, we held each other close, touching, whispering tender words in each others ear, so comfortable and close to each other. I think we dozed for a few moments, but eventually I rose. Seeing that Steve was still asleep, I took a quick shower and went to the kitchen to start some bacon and eggs for breakfast. The sounds and aromas must have caused him to wake up, because soon he was in the kitchen, hugging me from behind, moving his hands inside my sweatshirt. I turned, kissed him warmly, and said, "If you want breakfast, stop that now and go take your shower! Everything will be ready when you get back in here, and we still have the rest of the weekend!"

After his shower, he pulled on some clothes and was soon back in the kitchen, just in time to pour two glasses of juice and sit down. I made toast for us, and, having worked up an appetite earlier, we quickly polished off the bacon and eggs.

"Steve, it's supposed to be warmer tomorrow than today, and nice weather. Since we're not going to be back here much in the future, let's go for one more hike on the loop trail — it has very special memories for us!"

"I was hoping we'd be able to do that this weekend. Every time I look at that painting, I practically melt when I remember that magical time, and how you agreed to become my wife."